Review by Rich Ward, photos by Lisa Billingham
The Temperance Movement have had a great 2014 that has seen them continue to build upon their success throughout the year, and they have finished it with a few select dates including this sell out show at the Institute. Their debut album is now over a year old, and yet without any new product they are still playing larger venues than on their previous Midlands visits to the Academy 2 and Wulfrun Hall.
There was an expectation that we would just hear the same setlist again with maybe a couple of new ones thrown in. Wrong. The very first song is a new one, and a fairly slow one to boot, which shows that the band are nothing if not brave. It was well executed in typical TTM fashion and although unfamiliar to most, it by no means gave the impression of trying out new material. What this did do though was make the crowd reaction to the following ‘Midnight Black’ even more accentuated.
The new songs kept on coming throughout the set; all high quality offerings that should cement their future with the second album. The band are exceptional, and many of the older songs have developed into show stoppers. In particular the extended ‘Take It Back’ with a cracking bass solo was a personal highlight.
Undoubtedly Phil Campbell remains the main focus of the crowd; his manic dancing is compelling and unique. While the rest of the band don’t draw the same level of attention, their musicianship is first class. The band is obviously a culmination of all of their individual histories and influences and they all seem to be very happy with where this has brought them.
A blistering, well paced set filled with different textures finished with ‘old’ favourites ‘Pride’ and ‘Only Friend’; the former featuring a superb solo from Paul Sayer. They continue to surprise with an encore comprised of a new song matched with an old one. ‘White Bear’ has a distinct bluesy feel with plenty of slide guitar which segues neatly into ‘Serenity’.
One thing that’s certain is that next time round, and on the back of a new album, we can expect to be seeing them moving up another level and playing to bigger audiences.
Setlist:
1. 3 Bullets
2. Midnight Black
3. Battle Lines
4. Magnify
5. Ain’t No Telling
6. Chinese Lanterns
7. Long Run
8. Get Yourself Free
9. Centrefold
10. Smouldering
11. Know For Sure
12. Take It Back
13. Pride
14. Only Friend
Encore:
15. White Bear
16. Serenity
